Laura Somersal

[3] Over the course of her lifetime, she was witness to the dwindling and near loss of her tribes, the land they called home in California's Sonoma Valley,[4] and the traditional materials used to create the intricate baskets she became known for.

To craft a traditional Pomo basket, Somersal would have to dig the roots of the sedge, soak, and dry them to shape before weaving.

[7] Somersal was vocal in her opposition to the displacement of the land, people and flora of the Warm Springs region, where her grandmother had lived before "whites threw the tribe out".

[3][8] When those efforts by her and her fellow tribe members failed, she concentrated on encouraging the transplanting of Californian sedge that would be displaced by the dam's construction.

In 1979, due to efforts by Somersal and other Pomo basket weavers, 39,000 plants were transplanted by the Army Corps of Engineers to make way for the creation of Lake Sonoma.

In 1982, she appeared as a witness in U.S. District Court over a freedom of religion case after the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers denied access to tribal members of the Dry Creek valley hot springs area.

The dam, created in 1983 has continued to be a source of tension for the native people who resided at the site for 10,000 years, and who considered the basin's hot springs to be sacred.